Mulled Beer Recipes

Winter is here and one is craving something hot. Until now I was acquainted with mulled wine and hot balsam. But being an incorrigible beer drinker, for my own delight and that of like-minded souls - this year, earlier than ever before, mulled beer has come into fashion!

Among beer producers, mulled beer is actively promoted by two brewers - Aldaris and Valmiermuiža Beer. Each, of course, has their own unique product that fits the purpose perfectly. :) In principle, any beer will probably do.

I know three types of beer from which mulled beer can be made:
1. with regular pale beer (Aldaris Christmas Beer or Valmiermuiža Unfiltered).
2. with dark beer (Valmiermuiža or another dark beer).
3. with porter (Aldaris Porter).

Valmiermuiža Beer recipe:
To 1 litre of live, unfiltered Valmiermuiža pale beer add 4 tablespoons of wildflower honey (72 g). Add a pinch of cinnamon or ground hot red pepper (0.35 g) to taste, and stirring constantly, heat the drink to the first wisps of steam (40 degrees Celsius).

Aldaris mulled beer recipes:

Winter Beer Grog:
Aldaris Winter Beer 1 L. Apple juice - 1 L. Apple syrup - 0.5 L. 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, orange and apple slices.

Beer Punch:
3 egg whites, 6 tablespoons icing sugar, 3 egg yolks, 1 lemon, Aldaris Winter Beer 1 L. Beat the egg whites with the icing sugar into stiff peaks, carefully fold in the egg yolks. Grate the lemon zest and heat together with the beer to just below boiling. Then remove from the heat and stir into the egg mixture. Pour into glasses, sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve hot.

Beer and Lemon Grog:
Aldaris Winter Beer - 1 L. Zest of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons honey or sugar.

Recipe from labsalus.lv

Porter 1 L, one lemon, a few spoons of honey. 4 tablespoons sugar and spices to taste. Bear in mind that if a lot of lemon is added, the mulled beer becomes bitter. When heating and adding sugar, the beer will start to foam.

My own recipes!

The Bitter One:
0.5 L Aldaris Winter Beer. Heat and add 100 ml apple juice. Add ~5 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 5 slices of ginger root about 0.3 mm thick, and one tablespoon of honey. Simmer over medium heat. Serve hot. As soon as it cools - it becomes undrinkable.

Ladies' Mulled Beer:
With this recipe the bitterness characteristic of beer and the hoppy aftertaste disappear. In their place, sweet-and-sour flavour notes appear.
0.5 L Aldaris Winter Beer, 0.4 L apple juice, 5 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 5 slices of ginger root about 0.3 mm thick. Add two tablespoons of brown (specifically brown!) sugar and stir while heating over low heat until it almost reaches boiling (but do not bring to a boil). Leave to steep. Serve warm.

A few observations:

Hard spices such as cloves and cinnamon sticks can be added in larger quantities, since in the short time it takes the beer to heat up they will not have had time to infuse properly. If you want the full flavour bouquet, it is best to leave the heated (not boiled) beer to steep and, before serving, reheat it once more if needed. When preparing with cloves - take care! :)